Ballast excavating and cleaning apparatus



J1me 5- I H. w. PROTZELLER 0 BALLAST EXCAVATING AND CLEANING APPARATUSFiled Oct. 5, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 J 28 Ira/91116 a .JioZZeZZer q 5'0n" 58 June 4, 1935 H. w. PROTZELLER BALLAST EXCAVATING AND CLEANINGAPPARATUS Filed Oct. 5, 1935 4 Sheets-Sheet June 4, 1935. H, w.PROTZELLER BALLAST EXCAVATING AND CLEANING APPARATUS Filed Oct. 5, 19334 Sheets-Sheet 4 orney.

Patented June 4, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE" .BALLAS'I' EXCAVATINGAND CLEANING APPARATUS Harry W. Proizeller, Fairmont, Minn., assignor toFairmont Railway Motors, Inc., Fairmont, Minn., a corporation ofMinnesota Application October 5, 1933, Serial No. 692,249

19 Claims. (01. 262-2) This invention relates to improvements in Fi 5 isa longitudinal sec V through ballast excavating and cleaning apparatusand one of a plurality of hydraulic engines or cylinit consists of thematters herein described and -ders embodied in the improvedapparatusmore particularly pointed out in the appended Fig. 6 is adetail horizontal sectional view 5 claims. through a part of theapparatus astaken on the 5 One of the objects of the present inventionline 6-6 of Fig. 1 and illustrates more p c is to, provide an economicaland flexible appalarly the flexible draw b8! connection between ratusfor excavating and cleaning the ballast of. one of the excavating ancleaning c sms a railway road bed as a continuous. operation and itsassiiciated hydraulic engine o cy der- ]0 and for relaying the cleanedballast so as to is a ud al d a l sectional view .10 provide a road bedhaving the desired drainage. h h a P of h ppar as aken on the Anotherobject of the invention is to provide line 0 n"; an apparatus of thiskind,'which is efllcient in s- 8 is a d m at p an v w i ustratinoperation, regardless of the type or kind of balmore P ularly the operave connection 1;; last found in the road bed, the variation in track w ne la eral pushing or bracing ylinderscenters or the trafiic conditionson the rail way. d ir ssociated ballast cleaning and excaa Still afurther object of the invention is to Vii-ting c a 1 provide anapparatus of this kind which can F 9 is a d a a m c view i u tratin thereadily operate on shoulders and intertrack space p p for and controldevices of the various or either thereof, and along straight track orhydraulic engines 0 cy e s e bod ed in the 20 curves, and which shall beeasy to control when pp ra excavating and cleaning ballast and in beingFig. 10 is a sectional view illustrating one of manipulated to permitpassage of trafllc on adjathe typi l -W y v v p y i the c ncent tracks.I trol mechanism of the'apparatus and shows the Still another object ofthe invention is to samein operative relation with associated mani- 25provide an apparatus of this kind which includes folds and pipes. aballast excavating and cleaner box or casing In G n l. my imp vedballast n n 9- along one or both sides of a car, which box or Daratusincludes a car adapted for travel upon casing may be readily moved fromone position a railroad track. Preferably at each side of the to anotheras track conditions require, and car is mounted a casing which includesmech- 30 which casing may be easily adjusted as to depth, anism forexcavating or removing foul ballast as to angularity, longitudinally,transversely and from both the shoulder and intertrack space andotherwise, at which it is desired to operate and for operating upon thesame so that each piece this whether on shoulder or inter-track space ofrock or stone in the removed ballast is caused I work. to roll or rubagainst its neighbor, whereby the 35 The above mentioned objects of theinvention, dirt is quickly shaken clear and is separated as well asothers, together with the many advanfrom the cleaned ballast. Thiscasing which will tages thereof, will more fully appearasIproceedhereinafter be referred to for brevity as the with my specification,cleaner box, is so supported by associated In the drawings: mechanismthat it may be projected laterally 40 Fig. 1 is a view in side elevationof an apfrom its non-working position on the car outparatus of the kinddescribed embodying the wardly anddownwardly into its workingposipreferred form of the invention and shows the tion, spaced laterallyfrom the car. This mechballast excavating and cleaning mechanism in itsanism is of a peculiar arrangement in that it 0 working position. can bemanipulated to tilt the box in every dis Fig. 2 is a top plan view ofthe same and rection to meet various working requirements. shows theballast excavating and cleaning mech- Referring now in detail to thatembodiment of anisms in full lines when in their working positheinvention, illustrated in the accompanying tions and in dotted lineswhen in their nondrawings: Y 1 Working positions. I indicates as a wholea railroad car with-,fifl, Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectionalview suitable framing including a center sill-2. Op; through a part ofthe apparatus on an enlarged eratively connected to the framing are thefront. scale as taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. and rear wheeled trucks3 and 4 respectively for Fig. 4 is a detail view in top plan elevationtravel upon the usual rails 5. These rails-.are i of certain parts shownin Fig. 3. secured in the manner well known uponwthetiesy 8 which restupon the ballast of a railroad road bed, such ballast usually being acrushed rock or stone ballast.

At the front and rear ends of the framing is provided suitable platformsI 'and 8 respectively thus exposing the framing and center silltherebetween as best shown in Fig. 2. n the front end of the car is acab l8 for the operator and in said cab are located the various controlsshown diagrammatically in Fig. 9 whereby the operating mechanisms of theapparatus are manipulated.

Rising from the framing at each side of th car, are pairs of front andrear upright structural posts H and 12 respectively, the posts II and 12on the same side of the car being connected together by a fabricatedbeam l3. Near the posts of each pair of upright posts II and I2 andsecured at their ends in the fabricated beams l3, are pairs oflongitudinally spaced, transversely extending channels H and Irespectively. Disposed between each pair of channels I4 and I5 aretransversely extending, projectable and retractable, cleaner boxsupporting members l8 and I1 respectively, each in the form of an Ibeam. On the channels I and I5 are journalled rollers Ila-45a, upon thetop side of which the top flanges of the I beams constituting themembers l8 and I1 engage, so as to provide an antifriction mounting forthe easy projection and retraction of said supporting members. Thisarrangement is best shown in Fig. 7. The members 16 are adapted forprojection outwardly from and retraction inwardly toward one side of thecar and the members I! are adapted for a similar projection andretraction with respect to the other side of the car.

Each member I8 and I1 is provided at its outer end on the top sidethereof with a socket l8, to receive the ball head on one end of apiston rod l9 whereby a universal joint connection is had between saidsocket and rod end. Each rod l9 extends through one end and into anassociated hydraulic cylinder 28 and the other end of each cylinder hasa ball and socket joint connection with a bracket 2| suitably mounted onthe associated channels I4 and IS. The rods and cylinders mentioned forthe members l8 and I! face in opposite direction. When a; hydraulicmotive fluid is admitted to one end of the cylinders 20, the beammembers l8 and I! are projected outwardly and when such-fluid isadmitted to the other end of said cylinders, said members are retractedinwardly.

Associated with the members |8--'l8, and l'l-l'l respectively, of eachpair thereof, is a ballast excavating and cleaning mechanism indicatedas a whole as at 22 and before referred to as the cleaner box Thefunction of said mechanism is to strike off or scrape into the ballasttojtne desired depth to not only excavate and remove such ballast butalso to clean the foul matter or dirt therefrom and then relay thecleaned ballast. Said mechanism con- Qtitutes' an open box-like casingof a length approximating the distance between the pairs of members I6and l I and includes a pair of inner and outer upright side walls 23-23secured together in any suitable manner. At the front bottom end of eachside.plate is an upright gathering wing 24. Between said plates isprovided a suitably driven, endless chain 25 which is trained aboutsprockets mounted on transverse shafts journalled in the side plates.This chain has teeth thereon, which in the forward movement of the carnot only dig into the ballast to excavate the same but also cause theexcavated ballast to travel upwardly and rearwardly over a cleaningscreen 25a. In this movement of the ballast up over the screen, thevarious rocks or stones receive a rolling action and are caused to rubagainst each other and this loosens the dirt and other foul mattertherefrom which falls through the screen to be discharged onto atransverse belt or conveyor, (not shown) for subsequent disposal. Thecleaned ballast is discharged from the rear end of the cleaning box backupon the subgrade produced by the scraping action of the box inexcavating or removing the ballast. The speciflc mechanism within thecleaner box forms no part of the present invention and therefore, isonly referred to generally.

Each cleaner box is Operatively connected at its four corners to itsassociated pair of supporting members l6 and IT as follows: Each sideplate of the cleaner box is provided near each end with an outwardlyextending spherical socket 28. Operatively engaged in'each socket is thespherical head on the bottom end of a piston rod 21. The other end ofeach rod extends through the bottom end of and into an associatedhydraulic engine or cylinder 28. Each cylinder 28 is provided at its topend with a spherical head 30 which is Operatively engaged in anassociated socket depending from the bottom of the associated supportingmember |8l'|. The cylinders 28 have operatively connected to their topand bottom ends, suitable conduits leading to and from a source ofhydraulic fluid under pressure. Thus such fluid may be fed into and outof said ends of the cylinders, to project and retract the various pistonrods out of and into their respective cylinders. In this projection andretraction of the piston rods, it is apparent that the cleaner boxes maybe lowered and raised with respect to their supporting members. Byraising and lowering the piston rods associated with one or the otherends of the box, its angular position may be changed as desired.

In Fig. 5, I have shown in detail on an enlarged scale, one of thehydraulic cylinders 28 and as these cylinders are substantially likeother cylinders employed inthe apparatus, a detailed description of onecylinder 28 will sufflce for all of such cylinders. The cylinder 28 isprovided at its bottom end with a stuffing box plate 3| through whichthe piston rod 2'! slides and in said plate is provided a boss 32 bywhich a pipe leading to andfrom suitable headers or manifolds isconnectedto the cylinder. The socket 26 in this instance is made of abolted together pair of socket members which coact to embrace aspherical head 21 on the piston rod.

The top end of the cylinder is closed by a plate 38 with which the head30 before mentioned, is made integral. This head engages in anassociated socket 35 previously mentioned depending from the under sideof an associated member l6 or H. Said socket is similar in structure tothe socket 28. Also provided in the top head is a boss 36 by which apipe leading to and from suitable headers or manifolds is connected tothe cylinder. On the top end of the piston rod within the cylinder issecured a piston 21a. When hydraulic fluid under pressure is admitted toone end of the cylinder, it

is apparent that the rod will be projected therefrom. When such fluid isadmitted to the other end of the cylinder the rod is retracted into thecylinder.

When the apparatus is in transport from one place of use to another, thecleaner boxes rest in their non-working position upon pairs of shelvesextending laterally from each side of the center sill 2 between theplatforms 1 and 8. Such shelves are best shown in Fig. 2.

When it is desired to move either one or both of the cleaner boxes intoworking position with respect to the ballast to be operated upon,hydraulic fluid under pressure is admitted to the inner end of theassociated cylinder or cylinders 20. This will cause the associatedpistons l9 to be projected outwardly with a corresponding projection ofthe cleaner box supporting memher 16 or I1 so that the cleaner box orboxes are moved outwardly off the supporting shelves 31 into a positionspaced laterally from the side of the car. This position is one locatedabove the ballast worked upon, whether the same be a part of theshoulder of the road bed or a part of the intertrack space of the roadbed.

Hydraulic fluid is now admitted to the top end of the cylinders 28 sothat the associated rods 21 are projected downwardly to lower the boxinto substantially working position with respect to the ballast. Byproper manipulation of the controls from said cylinders and which willlater be described, the front or inlet end of the box may be forced tosuch a position as to work or dig into the ballast as the car movesalong the track. When the proper operating depth has been attained, thebox may be held in said position by the cylinders against being forcedupwardly out of the ballast by the forces offered by the ballast.

Between each box and the car is a flexible draw bar in the form of alinked chain 38 (see Fig. 6) and by which the box is drawn through. theballast as the apparatus as a whole moves upon the track. This chain isoperatively connected at one end to the front end of the inner uprightplate 23 of the box by means of brackets 39 and shear pin 40. Ihis chainpasses through a guide tube 4| secured to adjacent i'raming and issecured at its other end to the piston rod 42 of a hydraulic cylinder 43carried by the car at a point under the rear end of deck portion 8. Aball and socket arrangement 43a, provides a universal joint connectionbetween said cylinder and car. Should the box meet an insurmountableobstruction embedded in the ballast, the pin 40 will shear or break soas to prevent undue damage to the cleaner box.

The cylinder 43 is provided at both ends with suitable conduits wherebyhydraulic fluid under pressure may be admitted to either end of thecylinder. Thus the desired fore and aft position of the box, withrespect to the transverse planes of the supporting members !6 and I1 maybe obtained with the assurance that said box may be rigidly held in thesaid desired position. When the box is moving into such a fore or aftposition, the pistons 21 and cylinders 28 will assume a positionslightly inclined from the perpendicular.

It is apparent that enormous forces are encountered by the cleaner boxin its operation upon the ballast and such pressure may maniiest itselfin several ways. One of these ways is to move the box laterally inwardor outward and therefore some means must be provided to counteract suchforces in this respect so as to hold the box in the desired workingposition.

In the present instance, I provide a pair of lateral thrust opposing,extensible braces for each box which hold the boxes in working positionso as to take the desired path through the ballast. Such braces eachcomprises a pair of hydraulic engines 44, each having a universal jointconnection 45 at one end with an associated bracket 46 secured to andextending laterally from the center sill 2. Slidable throughthe otherend of the cylinder is a piston rod 41 the outer end of which has auniversal joint connection 48 with the inner upright side plate 23 ofthe box. Each cylinder is providedwith connections at both ends wherebyhydraulic fluid under pressure may be admitted to either end of thecylinder. By the proper application of such fluid, the piston may beprojected out oi or retracted into the associated cylinder to providethat length of brace which will hold the box in the desired position.These braces normally extend downwardly and forwardly from their pointsof connection with the center sill when the same are in their workingposition. However, when said cleaner boxes are in their nonworkingposition wherein they rest upon the shelves 31, they extendlongitudinally of the car as best shown in Fig. 8.

It is known that the inner rail of a track, where the same takes acurve, is disposed at an elevation lower than that of the outside rail,due to banking, so that a car taking the curve will tilt toward thelower side of the track. With the present invention, it is apparent thatwith the car of the apparatus taking a curve during its operation, thebottom of the cleaner box would assume an angular position disposed at aright angle to the plane of the tilt. Under such conditions, the innerside of the box oper-- ating on the high side of the track, wouldoperate at an elevation lower than the outer side so that the subgrademade by the box in operation would cause drainage toward the track.- Toavoid this objection, the braces and supports as constituted bycylinders 14 and 28 and rods 41 and 21 respectively may be furtherprojected or retracted as might be necessary, so that the box is causedto swing inwardly or outwardly at the bottom about its connections withthe supporting members 2l-28 so as to insure that the bottom will bedisposed in a horizontal plane.-

Thus the subgrade, which really determines the direction of drainage,will be even.

In Fig. 9, I have shown diagrammatically, the control system for thevarious hydraulic'cylim ders. All of the controls for the system arelocated in the cab I0. In said Fig. 9, 49 indicates a pump driven in anysuitable manner by a motor 5!]. 5i indicates a line leading to the inletside of the pump from an oil tank 52 and in said line is an oil screen53. A shut-off valve 54 is provided in said line between the tank andscreen and a check valve 55 is also disposed in said line near the pump.

56 indicates the high pressure discharge line leading from the outlet ofthe pump and in said line near the pump is a check valve 51, and spacedfrom said check valve said line is provided with a shut-off valve 58. Aline 59 is connected to the line 56 at a point between the valves 51-58and in said line 59 is a pressure relief valve 50. The line 59 isconnected to the top end part of an oil reservoir BI and the tank 52 isconnected by a line 62 with the reseryoir 6| at a point between itsends. A vent line 53 is connected to the top end of the reservoir and aline 64 connects the top of the tank 52 with the vent line 53 wherebythe oil tank is vented.

65-66 and 61-68 indicate respectively, pairs of sets of manifolds orheaders, with one manifold of each set connected to a correspondingmanifold of the adjacent set by connectors 59-40 and "-12 respectively.The manifolds of the same set are connected together by connectors linesI3, |4'I5'|6-l|, 18l9808l, and 82, respectively, and in each connectorline Just above mentioned, is a four-way valve 13a l4a15a16a--'|la'|8a'|9a 80a-8 la and 82a, respectively, the purposes of whichwill later appear.

The connectors ID-12 just above mentioned are connected to the line 56by branches 83 and 84 respectively. The connector lines 59'Il beforementioned are connected to a line 85 by branches 8501-8511. and the pipe85 in turn communicates with the pipe 58 near the oil reservoir 6|.

86-81 indicate the manifolds or headers of another set or pair ofmanifolds, the manifolds of each set being connected together by sets ofconnectors 88-89909| and 92--93-94-95, in which are located fourwayvalves 880-890- 9lla9 la-92a93a--94a 9 a, respectively. The bottommanifolds of both pairs are connected by linesSG-S'l with the line 85while the top manifolds of both pairs are connected by a branch 9899with the lines 83-84 in turn connected to the line 55.

The four-way valves 89a-94a each has pair of lines IOU-40! connectedthereto and each line is connected to both ends of the associated reartop cylinders 20. The four-way valves 88a-95a each has a pair of linesI02 and I03 connected thereto. Each line lll2-l03 is connected to theassociated front top cylinders 20. Thus by manipulating the valves, thesets of supporting members 16 and I! may be projected and retractedlaterally to move the cleaner boxes at each side of the car, outwardlyor inwardly.

The valves 90a9la, 92a--93a are connected by pairs of lines l04-l05 andHIS-I01 respectively, with the associated ends of the pushing or bracecylinders 44. By proper manipulation of these valves, the cylinders 44and rods 41 may be held in the desired relation providing that length ofbrace which holds the cleaner box, rigidly in working position againstforces tending to shift the same laterally.

The valves 13-8241 are each connected by pairs of lines l08lll9respectively with the ends of the cylinders 43. By manipulating thesevalves the effective length of the chains 38 may be determined andwhereby the cleaner boxes may be caused to move forwardly or rearwardlyrelative to the 'car. Also by means of these valves the piston rods 42may be caused to be extended to accommodate the movement of the boxesinto the non-working position on the car.

The valves of the groups of valves 14a15ar Ilia-41a and 18a--|9a-80a-8laare each connected by pairs of pipes ll0lllll2ll3, H4--H5-lI6-lll,respectively, each with opposite ends of an associated raising andlowering cylinder 28. Thus by proper manipulation of the valves abovementioned, the cleaner boxes may be raised or lowered to the desiredelevation. When in the raised position, they may be projected inwardlyor outwardly by manipulation of the valves 88a-89a94a--95a. When in thelowered position, proper manipulation of the valves, causes theassociated cylinders 28 and. piston rods 21 to hold the cleaner boxes tothe desired working position in the ballast. The arrangement of thefour-way valves, in connection with their associated parts are bestshown in Fig. 10.

By turning the plug of any one of the various four-way valves, to aneutral position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 10, communicationbetween the pipes or lines connected thereto is closed off so that theassociated pistons and rods are locked against movement. This is animportant feature in that it enables an absolute control over saidpistons and rods so that they are firmly held in the desired positionagainst any forces tending to displace the same.

Another feature of importance in the hydraulic system is the reservoir6| which is kept but partially filled with hydraulic fluid to leave aspace Gla at the top. Thus as such fluid enters the same from thehydraulic cylinders, through the pipes 85-59, it is freed of air andgases and flows downwardly and is collected in the bottom of thereservoir. In this manner, the system is kept free of a foamlessnon-compressible fluid as no air can accumulate therein.

From the above, it is apparent that one or both cleaner boxes may bebrought into the desired working position, either when progressing alonga straight track or upon a curve. The cleaner boxes may be moved intothe ballast to work at the desired depth and should an insurmountableobstruction be engaged thereby, the pin 40 breaks so that no damageresults.

The apparatus described cleans rock ballast not only in the intertrackspace but it also handles the outer shoulder equally as well and at thesame time when so desired. Should it be necessary to remove theexcavator and cleaner box from its working position, to permit thepassage of a train on the adjacent track, as often happens, it can bevery quickly and easily done. The operator in the cab has all thecontrols conveniently available. So, also in restoring the apparatus toworking position, little time is required. This is an important item, asit reduces train interference to a minimum. Again, the hydraulic meansprovided is positive in action and the parts stay in any placed positionbecause the hydraulic fluid is not compressible.

While in describing the invention, I have referred in detail to theform, arrangement and construction of the various parts thereof, thesame is to be considered only in the illustrative sense so that I do notwish to be limited thereto exceptas may be specifically set forth in theappended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, and means for moving saidmechanism from its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to itsworking position, said means also being operable to tilt said mechanismin any direction when in said working position to meet diiferent workingconditions.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to its workingposition, and

means providing a universal connection between said mechanism and saidmeans for moving the same.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position outwardly and downwardly to its workingposition, and means providing a universal connection between saidmechanism and said means for moving the same, the first mentioned meansbeing operable to adjust said mechanism when in said working position tomeet different working conditions.

4. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position on the car to a position laterally outwardfrom the car, and means for moving said mechanism downwardly from saidlaterally outward posi tion into its working position, certain of saidmeans being operable to tilt said mechanism in any direction when insaid working position to meet different working conditions.

5. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to its workingposition, said means also being operable to tilt said mechanism in anydirection when in its working position to meet different workingconditions, and means for holding said mechanism in the working positioninto which it has been moved, against lateral displacement by forcesencountered when working in said working position.

6. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to its workingposition, said means also being operable to adjust said mechanism whenin its working position to meet different working conditions, and meansproviding a draw bar connection between said mechanism and car.

'7. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to its workingposition, means providing a draw bar connection between said mechanismand car and means for holding said mechanism in the working positioninto which it has been adjusted, against displacement by lateral forcesencountered when working in said working position.

8. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to its workingposition, and means providing a universal connection between saidmechanism and said moving means whereby said mechanisms may be tilted inany direction.

9. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving said mechanismfrom its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to its workingposition, and means providing a universal connection at a plurality ofpoints between said mechanism and said moving means whereby saidmechanism may be tilted in any direction.

10. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavatingand cleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving saidmechanism from its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to itsworking position, and means providing a universal connection betweeneach end of said mechanism and said moving means whereby said mechanismmay be tilted in any direction.

11. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavatingand cleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving saidmechanism from its non-working position,

outwardly "and downwardly to its working position, and means providing auniversal connection between each of four corners of said mechanismwhereby said mechanism may be tilted in any direction. I

12. In an apparatus of the class described, a car, ballast excavatingand cleaning mechanism carried by the car, means for moving saidmechanism from its non-working position, outwardly and downwardly to itsworking position, means providing a universal connection between saidmechanism and said means whereby said mechanism may be tilted in anydirection, and means for holding said mechanism in said working positionagainst lateral displacement by forces encountered when said mechanismis working in said working position.

13. In anapparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism, means including universal joints for suspending saidmechanism from above and for raising and lowering the same. and meansproviding for a guided lateral movement of said suspending means fromthe car whereby said mechanism may be'moved from its non-workingposition outwardly and downwardly to its working position.

14. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism, a plurality of supporting members for said mechanismextending transversely of the car in longitudinal spaced relation, meansproviding a guided movement for said members, means for projecting andretracting said members with respect to the side of the car, and meansincluding universal joints carried by said members and operativelyconnected to said mechanism for raising and lowering the same out of andinto working position.

15. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism, a plurality of supporting members for said mechanismextending transversely of the car in longitudinally spaced relation,means providing a guided movement for said members, means for projectingand retracting said members with respect to the side of the car,telescopic means between each of said members and said mechanism forraising and lowering said mechanism out of and into working position,and means providing a universal connection of said telescopic means withsaid members.

16. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism, a plurality of supporting members for said anism forraising and lowering said mechanism out of and into working position,and means providing a universal connecton of said telescopic means withsaid members and said mech anism respectively.

17. In an apparatus 01' the kind described, a car, ballast excavatingand cleaning mechanism, a plurality of supporting members for saidmechanism arranged above the same and extending transversely of the carin longitudinally spaced relation, means providing a guided movement forsaid members, means for projecting and retracting said members withrespect to the side of the car, and hydraulic means supported from saidmembers and operatively connected to said mechanism by means oi! jointspermitting a universal tilting of said mechanism, for raising andlowering the. latter out of and into working position.

18. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism, a plurality of supporting members for said mechanismarranged above the same and extending transversely oi the car inlongitudinally spaced relation, means providing a guided movement forsaid members, means for projecting and retracting said memberswithrespect to the side of the car, and hydraulic means supported from saidmembers and operatively connected to said mechanism for raising andlowering the latter out of and into working position, said hydraulicmeans having a universal connection with said mechanism.

19. In an apparatus of the kind described, a car, ballast excavating andcleaning mechanism carried by the car, hydraulic means for moving saidmechanism in and out with respect to the car, hydraulic means forlaterally bracing said mechanism when in said working position, meansproviding a source of hydraulic fluid under pressure, means forconnecting each of said hydraulic means with said source oi hydraulicfluid, and means on the car for controlling the passage and return ofsaid fluid to and from 20 each of said hydraulic means.

HARRY W. PROTZELLER.

